Recent content by Novice

As I am in search of a new instructor myself (and we debatably have too many to choose from in our community), I have been weighing a bunch of factors.
I look at them on the floor. Is this a style that I want to learn? Do their partners look comfortable? Do they look creative? Subtle? Smooth...

My theory, somewhat as mentioned above, is that the leader is the choreographer of the dance. If you are confident in your ability to lead it and feel the need to change the embrace, whether it is because the music told you to or because it would make a step nicer, and you feel your follower can...

From my observations, people who do this only get so far in their dancing, and eventually will have to take classes if they want to become more satisfied with their skill level. Those who are serious about the dance and try this will:
a. become confused because they cannot discern through...

My most preferred choice in practicing ochos was to stand in front of the fridge with two fingers on each side, such that if I used too much pressure or tried to "push" on the wrong side, the fridge would open. It also allowed me to put small impulses through my arms to communicate to the rest...

It is my observation that beginners need to dance with partners who have a variety of skill levels. Otherwise, they can develop bad habits and sometimes end up bickering like those who start learning with dedicated partners. Also good for morale. And while dancing with beginners too much can...

I've found that I actually have no preference in this--except, perhaps, that I want to learn from both genders, because they offer different points of view in the dance, and I find it best to have input from each. Men, who have more experience leading, can tell me how I can make the dance more...

I'm trying to romanticize the whole thing by pretending I'm one of those poor girls in the Regency who had to put trim on her dress to make it formal--and I actually did do that to my old plain black dance shoes. Trouble is, with the price going up, the time that I'm saving to buy a pair keeps...

Yeah, I agree that direct is better than "blunt and tactless". I was simply amused earlier by Peaches' earlier phrasing and it was 3 am over here and I couldn't sleep--or, apparently, articulate well! Pick-up lines, meanwhile, seem best used as a source of amusement, and never as an actual...

My thirteen-year-old alter ego usually makes the rest of me too nervous for this approach. At best, it's usually a coy/timid "Would it be awfully terrible if...?", and then his response, no matter how direct, is subject to 10,000 silent questions at least until the next time I see him.:rolleyes...

A recent experience (slow and agonizing, but that's how it feels in real life. My apologies for the length):
Some guy I haven't seen in our dance community shows up, asks me to dance. Dance is nice.
Same man shows up again the next week. What's his name? Repeat of previous week.
I spot man...

In my experience as a short person, I have noticed two solutions to height difference in a close embrace. One of these is that the lead, who in this case happens to be my instructor, is able to bend his knees but keep his weighted leg stiff so that it feels like it is straight. Other followers...

Anyone who feels a need/desire to try dancing should try. And keep at it. And become addicted, determined, and persist like the rest of us. Perhaps some will make fools of themselves on national TV in the process, but they may also just need to learn how much effort/investment is required to...